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Kids not the only ones to blame on when students play truant

Though students understand well that truancy means violations of the rules, and that this will lead to a knowledge gap, they still try to escape from lessons, because they cannot find joys at learning and cannot find support from families.

Why don’t students want to go to school?

The students are on the way to school

“I am feeling too tired of feeling. I cannot obtain any knowledge from lessons,” said Do Thi Ngoc, from TD High School. The noteworthy thing is that Ngoc was a good student who always got high marks from examinations. Her learning capacity has been degrading since she was an 11th grader.

Ngoc began playing truant and joined the groups of friends who spent most of their times at bars and inns, instead of at school, after she received a slap on the face right at the market, witnessed by many people; because the mother thought that Ngoc stole money.

After the incident, Ngoc has been put under the strict control of the mother. She has been asked to stay at home all the time after the school hours. When Ngoc’s friends came to her house, they were not welcomed by Ngoc’s parents.

Hating parents, Ngoc decided that she needs to “take revenge”. She told the parents that she needed to go to tutoring classes and join teamworks. However, in fact, Ngoc spent time to go out with friends. Now Ngoc has been recognized as the most famous “playgirl” of the school.

“I cannot stuff my head with any knowledge now. I just want to go out,” Ngoc said.

Nguyen Minh Quang, a student of TC School, who is also well known among students for the “truancy achievements”, said he feels a hard pressure from lessons.

“I have to learn all day, from the morning to afternoon and evening. Meanwhile, teachers are too strict. If I cannot learn my lessons, they would punish me,” Quang said. “I feel too tired of studying and I’d rather to play truant”.

Nguyen Hoang Lan, a student of CL secondary school, also thinks this way. Lan once had to repeat a class as a punishment when he joined a fight with other friends. However, Lan does not feel happy when he returns to school.

“Teachers would question me if anything occurs in the school,” he said. “My parents scold me all day long at home, while I cannot catch up with friends at school. So I have decided to give up school”.

Educators have pointed out that students should not be the only people to be blamed for their truancy. Not all students, who regularly play truant, are naughty students with bad learning capacity. Many students are good at learning, but they still play truant because they feel discontented with families’ members and dislike teachers.

Huynh Diep Thien Hoang, a 12th grader of TT High School related that he has some friends who always play truant. “They are very good at many school subjects. Their only problem, I think, is that they are too active. They said the teachers are too boring,” Hoang said. “I think the teachers always focus on teaching and do not spend time to ask students what they think and what they need”.

Nguyen Minh Hoang, a 12th grader of NCT High School, also said that at his school, there is a group of friends, who always play truant. “Most of them come from well-off families. As their parents are too concentrating on doing business, they do not have time to take care for their children,” Hoang said.

Schools need to blame themselves

Most of school leaders admitted that schools need to take responsibility of student’s truancy. Nguyen Dinh Thinh, Headmaster of Hoang Hoa Tham High School in the Binh Thanh District, said it is necessary to find out why students get tired of studying, so that schools can draw up suitable measures to help students.

Nguyen Thi Yen Trinh, Headmaster of Tran Khai Nguyen High Schol, said she has found out that many students, who regularly play truant, come from the families where parents are in judicial separation or have divorced.

“I have instructed teachers to give private lessons to the students who cannot understand the lessons after the school hours. Besides, we are organizing “live skill lessons” which aim to help students restore their self-confidence,” she said.